Puneri Paltan beat Haryana Steelers second time consecutively

· The brave moments of the match came from Akshay Jadhav who made critical tackles and scored points
· Rajesh Mondal was the fittest player on the mat as he made quick and effective raids

Pune, October 14, 2018: Puneri Paltan climbed to the top of Zone A table in Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season VI with a resounding 45-27 win over Haryana Steelers. Haryana Steelers’ poor defensive performance was the main reason for their second consecutive defeat. Vikas Kandola put a solid all-round performance for Haryana Steelers and scored 11 points. . Nitin Tomar got 10 points whereas Rajesh Mondal chipped in with 8 points to lead Puneri Paltan to a comfortable win.

It was an evenly contested affair in the first few minutes of the match as both teams were tied at 5-5 after seven minutes. Puneri Paltan then shifted gears with Nitin Tomar getting into the act. Tomar scored three points in two raids as Puneri Paltan inflicted an all out to lead 13-7 after 12 minutes.

Rajesh Mondal then scored with a two-point raid to give Puneri Paltan 15-10 lead after 15 minutes. Haryana’s star man Monu Goyat had a quiet first half which affected the team’s performance. At the end of the first half Puneri Paltan enjoyed an eight-point lead with the score 19-11 in their favour.

Vikas Kandola made a super raid in the 30th minute as Haryana Steelers cut the deficit to 20-31. Puneri Paltan were in no mood to surrender any advantage as they pocked tackle and raid points at regular intervals. With just over five minutes left Puneri Paltan led 34-23.

Puneri Paltan were exemplary in both attack and defence. While Haryana Steelers scored 20 raid points compared to Pune’s 21, it was the tackle points which let them down. Puneri Paltan scored 16 tackle points whereas Haryana scored just four.

In the last five minutes, Puneri Paltan kept their composure and kept on picking raid and tackle points. Haryana left themselves a mountain to climb and eventually fell short as they crashed to 27-45 defeat.

The brave moments of the match came from Akshay Jadhav who was imperious in defence and earned a high five for himself.

Puneri Paltan’s next match will be against Gujarat Fortunegiants on 18th of October, as they begin their home leg in Pune. Tickets for Puneri Paltan’s home leg matches scheduled to be held between 18-24 October at Shri Shivv Chhatrapati Sports complex, Mhalunge-Balewadi can be obtained from BookMyShow.

Post Match Presentations

VIVO Perfect Raider OF THE MATCH – Nitin Tomar (Jersey 5), Puneri Paltan

THE TATA ACE DEFENDEDR OF THE MATCH – Akshay Jadhav (Jersey 2), Puneri Paltan

JSW MOMENT OF THE MATCH AWARD GOES TO – Akshay Jadhav (Jersey 2), Puneri Paltan